The Song Remembers When
by Frayed at the Edges
Summary: Years down the road...a one shot, song fic...Jude hears a familiar tune that strikes memories long forgotten...let me know what you guys think! :D


**I was standing at the counter  
I was waiting for the change**

Jude stood at the counter waiting for the cashier to return her change. It had been a long and tiring day, and all she wanted to do was go home and fall onto her large comfortable bed and take a nap.

**When I heard that old familiar music start  
It was like a lighted match  
Had been tossed into my soul  
It was like a dam had broken in my heart**

The young teenager had just begun to count the money from the till when an old familiar tune began to seep from the grocery store speakers. At first the song didn't register in Jude's tired mind, and she absentmindedly began to hum the sweet melody.

Then suddenly she felt a dull ache in her chest, a pain of remembering…remembering when all those years ago she had been truly, hopelessly, blindly, and utterly in love….

**After taking every detour  
Getting lost and losing track  
So that even if I wanted  
I could not find my way back  
After driving out the memory  
Of the way things might have been  
After I'd forgotten all about us  
The song remembers when**

A flash of a piece of memory long since buried of brilliantly piercing blue eyes swam into her mind, and a sad smile played across her pink lips and her eyes fluttered shut, allowing for the complete image to take shape.

**We were rolling through the Rockies  
We were up above the clouds  
When a station out of Jackson played that song  
And it seemed to fit the moment  
And the moment seemed to freeze  
When we turned the music up and sang along**

_Tommy and her were riding along a deserted highway, the windows down, and just enjoying each other's company. Jude had never felt more free as she did at that moment sitting side by side with Tommy, the wind blowing her blonde locks fiercely around her face. _

_It was just the road, the radio, and them…no other worries, and nothing to do…except loving each other_.

_Tommy glanced at Jude through his peripheral view and a charming grin made a home on his lips. Gently he grabbed her hand closest to him and brought it to his lips, placing a delicate kiss on it. He continued holding her small hand, almost afraid that if he let go, it all would have been a dream…_

_Jude looked lazily over at Tommy, her bright, ocean blue eyes sparkling with passion. A smile too graced her beautiful features and she blew a kiss toward him._

_In that instant, a soft love tune began to blare through the car speakers, and being the musically inclined couple they were…they sang along. It was what they did, they always made beautiful music together, whether it be their own work or not._

_But there was something different about this song…something that made it seem so perfect at that present moment, they decided to deem it as "their song."_

"_I'll always love you Jude," Tommy said earnestly, their hands still entwined between them in the seat, "You're everything to me, everything I've ever wanted. I couldn't ask for anything else."_

_Her heart fluttered in her chest, swelling with emotion, noticing the honestly in his tone, "And I'll always love you Quincy…always."_

**And there was a God in Heaven  
And the world made perfect sense  
We were young and were in love  
And we were easy to convince  
We were headed straight for Eden  
It was just around the bend  
And though I have forgotten all about it  
The song remembers when**

"Ma'am?" Jude was brought from her reverie and found herself still facing the cashier, now holding the change out for her to take. Jude shook her head slightly, grabbed the money and groceries and headed for the exit. The song now in it's ending verse.

Jude slowly strolled to her car and unlocked it. Hastily she threw the bags in the back and got into the driver's seat, starting the car.

But instead of driving away, she found herself still reeling from the flashback, and she quickly glanced to her left hand, the gold band on it shining brightly in the afternoon light. Tears began to well in her eyes and she couldn't fight them off…she hadn't cried over him in so many years, it was almost another life time ago…like it had been a different person who sat in the car and believed so passionately in life and in love…

Yeah she was in love now…but it wasn't the same…nothing would ever be the same as it had been, nothing would ever be able to compare to the love Tommy and her had shared. Their connection was deeper than anyone would have ever been able to understand.

**I guess something must have happened  
And we must have said goodbye  
And my heart must have been broken  
Though I can't recall just why  
The song remembers when**

It made her wonder how things ever even ended between them, maybe both had been too passionate about things…both has been too proud to admit their own wrongs…

"_Why does it have to hurt so much?" Jude cried in Tommy's arms, "Why are you going? Why are you leaving me?"_

"_I don't want to, but it's for the best," Tommy comforted, trying to keep his own tears of heartbreak at bay._

_Jude wrenched herself away, her eyes wide and red-rimmed, "How is this the best? Please tell me? How is killing us going to be the best?" Once again, her whole body was overtaken with sobs, but this time when Tommy went to reach for her, she backed away._

"_We're not together anymore Jude," Tommy said quietly, "and it hurts, and that's all we keep doing to each other. Hurting each other…and I don't want to hurt you anymore. Maybe, by me leaving, we can both heal."_

_Shaking her head vigorously, Jude choaked out in between sobs, "You're giving up on me…on us?"_

"_No," Tommy shook his head, "I'm giving us time."_

_For a moment, neither said a word and Tommy gently cupped her face in his hands, "I still love you, just always remember that. Please?" He then laid his forehead against hers, taking a deep breath. _

_Jude nodded her head slowly, her lips quivering, and closed her eyes, making sure to take in his scent, to memorize every detail about the way he looked at that moment. Neither knew how long passed before Tommy finally pulled away and captured her luscious lips with his. The kiss was gentle, sweet, passionate…it conveyed just how much love he held for her. When they broke apart, the both were breathing heavily, and Jude found her hands on his chest. She looked into his gorgeous face and saw the pain in his eyes reflecting her own, "I guess this is our goodbye."_

_Tommy didn't reply, instead he placed another kiss on her lips, but this one was more chaste and quick._

_Jude knew there was nothing left to say, so she just nodded her head. Looking at him one last time, she bit her lip to steady it's trembling and turned around. She kept her pace even, feeling his eyes on her retreating back, but she promised herself she wouldn't turn back and so she didn't…until she had reached the doors of the airport. Jude couldn't help it, she had to turn around, just one last time. But when she did, Tommy was already gone…_

**Well, for all the miles between us  
And for all the time that's passed  
You would think I haven't gotten very far  
And I hope my hasty heart  
Will forgive me just this once  
If I stop to wonder how on Earth you are**

But that's just a lot of water  
Underneath a bridge I burned  
And there's no use in backtracking  
Around corners I have turned  
Still I guess some things we bury  
Are just bound to rise again  
For even if the whole world has forgotten

Silent tears were now spilling over her long eyelashes and cascading down Jude's porcelain cheeks. That had been the last time she had seen or spoken to Tommy Quincy. He never came back…

And she never went after him…weeks, months, and eventually years passed…and Jude went on with her life. She had to, for herself more than anything.

It was funny how much time changed you. Thinking back to her younger years, Jude felt her heart weighing heavy in her chest at how much had truly changed, how much people changed.

Pulling at the long gold chain around her neck, Jude opened the small heart locket she never removed. Her husband never asked, and she never volunteered any information about it. It had been years since she had opened it, but she still wore it, never really thinking about it, but now as she sat in the slowly emptying lot, her hands shook with anticipation. It was almost as if she was opening a forgotten treasure chest remembering what it held.

The heart quickly snapped open and inside laid two miniscule pictures, on one side there was a picture of Tommy and Jude lost in a kiss that either Sadie or Kwest had taken. A genuinely smile flickered on her face, lighting her eyes as she stared at it until her eyes moved slowly to the opposite picture. Tommy's piercing eyes were staring back at her, and although it was just a picture of him, she could still feel herself getting lost in them. The tip of Jude's finger outlined his face as she thought about where he might be today, if he had been able to move on and fall in love again. If he had also married someone and started a family…and if he ever thought of her…

"I'll always love you Quincy…always…"

**The song remembers when  
Yeah, and even if the whole world has forgotten  
The song remembers when **


End file.
